Owl City – Fireflies

My daughter has Owl City’s “Ocean Eyes” on her MP3 player. A number of songs on this album appeal to pre-teen and teen girls, but the song “Firefly” especially caught my attention.

I love the fresh simplicity, hopefulness, imagination and innocence of this song. The image of “ten million fireflies” lighting up the world takes me way back to my childhood, when I would run to catch them and keep a few in the jar. There’s a clear dream imagery as well, in which singer Adam Young would like to bring a portion of his dream into the real world, to hold on to his imagination. I also think it’s really cool that Adam Young is a total nerd.

And aren’t bicyclists like that as well? We’re nerds who don’t care much for what the rest of the world thinks of us. We appreciate the youthful fun of riding a bike, just like a child does. Hopefully, most of us are not too serious about our bikes and riding. Some of us might even dream of a world where we can bike unrestrained by societal norms and excessive traffic hazards.

Its a cool song with a good message. Tell Ivy she's got good taste in music! I'm looking forward to getting a ride in with some new music I've gotten into recently, some wild and incredible sampling mashups by a guy who calls himself Girl Talk.